The first week of March at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has always been one filled with excitement. With spring break just one week away, students take a break from their studies and focus on preparing for anticipated good times. On Wed. March 5, however, turmoil and grief infected what was supposed to be one of the more carefree weeks in the academic calendar, when a member of the student body was found shot just half a mile away from the campus.
It wasn't until Thursday morning that the victim was identified as 22-year-old student body president Eve Carson. Carson, a pre-med biology and political science major, was awarded the prestigious Morehead Scholarship and spent her summers volunteering in Ecuador, Egypt, and Ghana.
Police first investigated the crime when two neighbors called 911 after reportedly hearing four gunshots and a woman screaming. Indeed, Carson had been shot numerous times, including once in the temple. Police were at a loss for any sort of explanation or motive for the crime and confirmed at a press conference that they had no suspects at the time.
Meanwhile, students left for spring break with heavy hearts, awaiting any sort of explanation for the murder. Little by little, answers started to arise. Carson's car was found in perfect condition on March 6 parked a mile away from where her body was found. Her cell phone was also recovered on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill. The biggest lead occurred Saturday when police obtained photos of two men attempting to use Carson's debit card. On Monday, two new photographs were released of one of the men walking into the convenience store where the ATM was located. Police, however, were baffled by the identity of the man in the picture.
It was not until Wednesday, March 12 that the suspect was identified. Demario James Atwater was taken into custody at 5 a.m. and charged with one account of first-degree murder. "This is still an active and ongoing investigation," said Brian J. Curran, the Chapel Hill chief of police, during an afternoon news conference. Police are still searching for a second suspect, Lawrence Alvin Lovette, who is also wanted on a first-degree murder charge.
In addition to the general rise of violence in universities across the country, the Carson homicide raises numerous questions about security on college campuses. "I received an emergency text message from the university at around 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning," said Stefano Rivera, a freshman at UNC. "It said that the police had found the body of a shooting victim off campus, check the security Web site for more details." Students then received two e-mails regarding the crime. The first gave a detailed description of the victim and urged students to help; the second identified Carson as the victim.
UNC is one of the first universities to use emergency texts to alert students in emergency situations. "I feel like we have a really good security system in place," Rivera said. "Since the crime was off campus, there was not much more that they could do."
Nadia Hoekstra, native of Chapel Hill and A&S '11, said, "I have never felt unsafe in Chapel Hill." Hoekstra, who was in Chapel Hill during the week of Carson's murder, witnessed first hand the effects of the murder on the community as a whole. "It's one of those ridiculous things you never think would happen. None of it makes sense. I have never seen Chapel Hill so depressed."
"As sad as it was, the whole thing really brought the community together," Rivera said. Just three hours after Carson's body was identified, a makeshift service was organized in the center of the campus. A sea of over 3,000 students came together and 5,000 more appeared at the candlelight vigil that night, an indication of the number of lives Carson affected.
"The fact that all of these people came here shows that we really are united and that we really can get through this together," said UNC student Gina Mottesi.
In addition to the two vigils, UNC has established a memorial fund in Carson's name. According to UNC's Web site, the fund is intended to "celebrate and remember Carson's love for the University and its students,"
The tragic event made the infamous Duke versus UNC basketball game about much more than winning. For the first time in the history of the rivalry, not a sound was uttered at the beginning of the game. In addition to a moment of silence, members of both teams wore ribbons in memory of Carson. Even Boston College stood up in solidarity. The Undergraduate Government of BC passed a motion that offered condolences to UNC and honored the life of Carson.
"There's not too many good human beings around anymore, and she was really one of them," said Buddy Simms, Carson's biology teacher. She was "just a person who was going to do good things for people."
Carson was buried in her hometown of Athens, Georgia on Sunday afternoon.
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